Down They Fall
by mischief-manager00
Summary: After Castle leaves, Beckett falls back down the hole of her mother's murder. And finds the key to the Dragon. And she doesn't plan on returning... Name change from NCISninja
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my take on the 47 Seconds preview. I know this is highly vague. But that's the point. This was really hard for me to write. It's kinda angsty which is really out of the norm. **

**Disclaimer: I am merely borrowing teh characters for the night.**

**Enjoy...**

* * *

><p><strong>Down They Fall<strong>

**Chapter 1: **

"I was shot and remember every second of it."

"You lied to me."

The words rang in her ears as her apartment door shut behind her.

As soon as the door clicked, tears fled from her eyes.

He hadn't said anything else to her. Just 'You lied to me.' then left.

She hadn't said anything. Just watched his back disappear.

Kate had planned on telling him. But she needed to sort out her feelings.

"I'm sorry." She choked out. "I never meant to hurt you."

Sobs shook her frame violently. She raised her eyes to a photo of her and her mother. It was from when she was 14. Both were smiling brightly at her dad who had taken it.

"Mom... I wish you were here. You'd know what to do."

She brushed her tears away from her cheeks and jawbone.

Her body had slid down the wall during her breakdown.

Kate steeled her nerve and stood up.

She walked over to her own murder board.

She had lost her mother 11 years ago. Then Richard Castle had walked into her life. He had offered a hand to pull her out of the hole she had fallen in.

He had pulled her focus from solving her mothers case to solving others and living.

"Gone." She murmured. Both gone.

"Castle's gone. I screwed up." Her eyes scanned over the pictures and post it notes. "Mom, I'm going to figure this out."

Kate grabbed some sheets of paper and a black pen from a drawer in her bedroom, and then rushed back to the board.

She began copying the information down in her wild scrawl.

Hours later, Kate stepped back and winched. She had been curled up on the floor for sometime and her muscles were screaming their protest.

She glanced down at the clothes she was wearing. A sigh and a head shake later; she limped into her bedroom and pulled out a pair of yoga pants, a tank top and one of her NYPD sweatshirts.

Most people would be starving at this point but Kate ignored the rumbling in her stomach.

Kate grabbed the stacks of paper and slumped down on her couch. Her eyes scanned through her handwritten notes.

Her brain whirred madly as she considered all possibilities.

"Oh my god." Her voice sounded raspy even to her own ears.

,,,

Kate flashed her badge to the uniform standing outside the records room. "Evening, Detective Beckett. Do you need help finding a file?" He asked kindly.

"No. I know what I'm looking for." Kate smiled forcedly.

She opened the door and headed to the file she was looking for.

* * *

><p><strong>So how'd you like it? Please review. One review and I'll post the next chapter! But this genre is new and difficult for me. Sooooooo... please tell me your thoughts.<strong>

**E**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to all my favoriteers, alertians and reviewer. It means a lot. So here's the second chapter as promised. **

**Disclaimer:** _Not mine, never will be. All mistakes are mine. No beta and this was written on an iPhone so yeah..._

**Now Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><strong>Down They Fall<strong>

**Chapter 2:**

He had been away from the 12th for 2 almost 3 days. Away from the lies, the forced smiles, pretend laughter and the remnants of his heart.

Alexis and Mother were gone. Gone at some meditation thing.

He had killed off Nikki Heat in as many ways as possible yet he still felt that final fatal blow. "I remember every second of it." He muttered angrily.

Rick heard the sound of the mail sliding in to the box. He stood up groggily to get it.

"Bills, bills, fan mail..." He stared at the last one.

The handwriting was painfully familiar. "Kate...?"

At first sadness swept through him, then anger that she couldn't face him herself.

/

Dear Rick,

I am so sorry for any pain that my mistakes have caused you. I never meant to hurt you. I want to explain my reasoning for you.

\\\

It sounded as if she was breaking up with him or something. He sighed but continued.

/

I did what I do best. Run. Run and hide from the truth. I may tease you for being like a child but that description fits me better. I run from the things that scare me. And you know what scares me? Falling in love.

\\\

His fingers touched the wet mark that had fallen on the page. It was some form of her and it tore his heart to see it.

/

Yes I heard everything in the grave yard. I heard that you love me. I think that that's part of the reason why I made it.

But I doubt you'll ever see me again. I found one of the men who called the hit on my mother.

\\\

His breath caught in his chest. What had he missed?

/

I'm going to go and deal with it. I need to do this. By the time you get this letter I'll be gone.

Richard Castle, I love you. So that's why you need to listen to me. I'll probably be gone so I want you to move on and be happy.

I love you.

Always,

Kate Beckett

\\\

Kate's dried tears on the paper mixed with his fresh one as he stared at the letter.

"Kate." He sighed her name. "I love you."

He reread the words, 'I'll be gone.'

"No." He let out a strangled yell. "No. No. No."

Steadying himself he grabbed he phone and pressed his number 1 speed dial.

"Hi, you've reached Detective Kate Beckett. Leave a message and I'll try to get back to you." Castle pulled the phone away from his ear.

Why did he care? She had tossed him aside with no regard for his feelings. But she loved him. Kate Beckett had said well written that she loved him.

He quickly pressed his number 3. "Esposito." The gruff voice said through the line.

"It's Castle. Where's Beckett?"

"Oh hey bro. She took a few days off. Why? What's up?"

Castle gulped nervously. "Um, you and Ryan need to come over and see this for yourself."

"The loft?"

"Yeah."

"We'll be there in 10." The linecut out.

Castle paced around his office, then turned on his secret murder board. He looked at every piece of information. And still had nothing.

A knock broke him out of his self pity.

"Hey guys. Come in." He said raggedly.

"Dude. You look like hell." Ryan said as he took in Castle's disheveled hair and blood shot eyes.

Esposito popped him in the arm. "What's going on Castle?"

Castle led them to his office. "Here." He shoved the letter at them.

"Oh crap. Beckett. What did you get into?" Esposito moaned.

"Esposito, what is it?" Castle pried, desperate for information.

"I've seen letters like these." His face was set in grim defeat.

"Like what?" Anxiously, his parter asked.

"Good bye letters. Guys send them home before risky missions." His tone lowered and his eyes lost their spark. "Suicide missions."

**How was it? Please tell me in a review. And just to clear up any confusion I wrote this before the episode, based off the promos. And it would take place after we see Castle leaving (in the promo). That's all. Read this, review. Try to get some sleep. We all know what insomniacs fanfiction turns us into. ;)**

**E**


	3. Chapter 3

**Guys, I love all the alerts and stuf. But I've only got one review which is highly disheartening. I'm going to continue with the story but please leave a note. **

**Disclaimer:**_ Yep. I own it. Uh huh. Totally. Gotcha. No. I own nothing. Also no beta. Written on an iPhone, so excuse small mistakes. _

_**Enjoy...**_

* * *

><p><strong>Down They Fall<strong>

**Chapter 3**

Castle looked at Ryan and Esposito. Their faces were mirrors of his. Fear was etched into each.

Ryan was the first to find his voice. "Suicide missions...?" He asked disbelieving.

"Yeah. I had a buddy who was 'chosen' for a mission. He didn't come back. I brought his letter back to his girl." Esposito shook his head sadly at the memory.

Ryan and Esposito looked at Castle, who was staring blankly ahead. "Bro. You okay?" Esposito asked softly.

"Castle?" Ryan asked, his voice brimming with worry.

"Yeah. What?" His voice stumbled over the words. "She said she's not coming back." Castle mumbled.

"Maybe she's just at home. She just needed to tell you this." Ryan reached out a hand and laid it on Castle's arm.

"Bro." Esposito warned in a tone only Ryan could hear. "Castle why don't we go check out her apartment, if she's not there we have to call Gates." Esposito slipped into the leadership role with apparent ease.

Castle nodded numbly. "Fine." The word came out as a whisper.

The boys car pulled up in front of Beckett's building. Castle drew in deep breaths and let them out in a hiss.

"You ready, bro?" Esposito glanced at him.

"Yeah. Ready as I'll ever be." Castle took in a shaky breath as they left the car.

Castle led them up to Beckett's apartment. He fumbled with his keychain, until he found the right key and slipped it into the lock.

"You have a key to Beckett's place?" Ryan asked, eyebrows raised.

"You have a key to Esposito's place." Castle said flatly.

"Touché, bro. Touché." Ryan grumbled.

Castle pushed open the door. Ryan and Esposito walked in first, hands resting on their guns.

Castle stared at the mess of paper and pictures that scattered the floor of her living room. Pictures of Johanna Beckett's mangled body lay next to sheets of paper that were covered in Beckett's handwriting at its messiest.

"She's not here. I'll call the Captain." Ryan said, pulling out his phone.

"Tough luck, bro." Esposito sighed.

"Gates wants us to come in. And bring Beckett's notes and stuff." Ryan walked back in, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

Esposito and Castle gathered up the stacks of paper and pictures.

"What about her murder board?" Ryan asked.

"Grab it." Esposito commanded. Ryan nodded and pried the board off the window.

Ryan, Esposito and Castle carried all of Beckett's stuff on her mom's murder into the precedent and into the conference room.

"Detectives. Mr Castle." Gates called as they walked out of the conference room.

"Captian." Ryan nodded.

"Sir." Esposito acknowledged her with a curt nod.

Castle looked sullen and emotionless.

"What do you have?" She asked urgently.

"Beckett sent Castle this letter and we can't reach her or find her." Esposito reported.

"We think it has something to do with her mother's murder." Ryan supplied helpfully.

Castle handed her the letter he had recived from Kate.

"This is not good. Get to work. I have a few calls to make." She handed the letter back to Castle, then stormed back to her office.

Castle's phone began buzzing in his jacket pocket.

"I'll be back in a second." He walked to an empty corner, by the elevator.

"Castle." He said, his voice cold.

"Mr. Castle, we need to talk..."

* * *

><p><strong>So how was it? A little cliffhanger, but not really. So yeah... Review. <strong>

**I'm curious. Other then Caskett, what is your favorite pairing on TV? Any show. Just leave a review please.**

**E**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm shocked at how much I've been updating. I'm on break right now, so don't expect this at all times. Thanks for the reviews! Keep it up!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><strong><strong>

**Down They Fall**

**Chapter 4**

"Hello? Who is this?" Castle asked, his voice full of distress.

"Mr. Smith." The cool voice came slow and definite.

"Is this about Beckett? Is she dead?" He asked as an afterthought.

"No. The Dragon has captured her. She attempted to take him down by herself. They won't kill her as leverage for information."

"Who's the Dragon? Where is she?"

"I'll be in contact, Mr. Castle." The line cut out, leaving a deadly ringing in his ears.

"Yo, Castle!" Esposito yelled from the conference room. "Come here."

Castle ran over.

"Dude, you look like you saw a ghost." Ryan looked up at Castle, who's face was blank and pale.

"Kate's alive." Esposito opened his mouth, but Castle continued. "Alive, but captured. By the Dragon."

"So you know you he is?" Ryan stood up quickly.

"No."

"Do you know where?" Esposito crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Er, no."

"Then how do you know?" Esposito prodded.

"Well, there's this guy. An old friend of Montgomery's. And he has information on Beckett's mom's murder. He's talked to me after Beckett was shot and during the mayor case." Castle explained quickly, seeing their disbelieving looks.

"And you didn't tell Beckett?" Esposito asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Mr. Smith told me not to. Just to get her off of her mothers case. If she didn't she would be killed."

"Mr. Smith?" Ryan asked.

"That's what the guy calls himself." Castle defended.

"Uh huh." Esposito shook his head.

"Have either of you called Jim Beckett, her dad?" Castle asked.

"Of course we did. Not call her dad. What do you think we are? Stupid?" Ryan ducked away sheepishly.

"Okay. Why did you call me over?"

"Two days ago, Beckett looked at a file. We're trying to figure what file though." Esposito sat down in a chair. He leaned back in the chair.

Castle ran a hand through his hair. "Aren't there cameras?"

"Yeah. But Beckett was in a blind spot."

"Why? And how did she know where they were?" Castle raised his eyebrows.

"Do you know what Beckett did the first 2 years she was at the 12th? She snuck down to the file room and went through her mother's case." Esposito stared at Castle.

"Oh yeah. Montgomery mentioned that was where met her." Castle nodded. "So she knows all the blind spots."

"We just need to figure out what it was that she found." Esposito twiddled a pen erratically.

"Jim Beckett is going to come down. He'll be here in 10 minutes." Ryan walked back in. "You guys please never go missing long enough that I have to call your parents. That was not a fun call."

"Be glad it wasn't a call about us finding her." Esposito reasoned.

Castle sank down into the chair, his knees suddenly weak at the thought.

"Oh. Man, I'm sorry. We're gonna bring her back alive. I promise." Esposito apologized profusely.

"Yeah. We'll find her." Ryan added.

"Detective Ryan. There's a Jim Beckett here to see you. Should I send him up?" A uniform asked, poking his head in.

"Yeah. Send him up."

**So how was it? I hope I'm not moving too fast or too slow. Also I think we will be catching up with Beckett in a few chapters. Good? Tell me your thoughts on how you'd like to see her. **

**On a side note, thank you to all the people who reviewed and told me their favorite pairings. So here are mine: Tiva(NCIS), Jibbs(NCIS), Shules(Pysch), Bones and Booth(Bones), Densi(NCISLA). **

**The question for this chapter is favorite Castle episode.**

******Also, did anyone notice the tiny Harry Potter reference in Chapter 2? Tell me and you get a virtual cookie... maybe not but I'll think you're pretty awesome. **

**E**


	5. Chapter 5

**Down They Fall**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

><p>A worried Jim Beckett was ushered into the conference room. Gates noticed him leaving the elevator and left her office hurriedly.<p>

"Mr. Beckett." Esposito stood up quickly. He stuck out his hand.

"Detectives." He took Esposito's hand in his and nodded to Ryan.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Beckett." Ryan gave him a sad smile.

"So what's wrong with Katie?"

"Um, well, she's gone missing." Ryan said.

"We think she's been captured." Esposito added.

"Why? By who?" His voice was strained.

"Mr. Beckett, she sent me this letter." Castle handed him the letter.

His eyes scanned over the paper. "You were supposed to stop her. You were supposed to make sure she backed off." He yelled angrily at Castle.

"Look, we had a fight. We weren't speaking. She must of done it then." Castle halfheartedly defended himself.

"Mr. Beckett, please calm down." Gates stepped in front of them.

"Calm down? Calm down?" His voice raised slightly. "I've already lost my wife to these people. And now my baby girl." His voice cracked and he repeated. "My baby girl. My Katie. And you want me to back down? I'm afraid I can't do that." Jim Beckett's eyes glistened under the lights as he took a deep breath.

"Alright, Mr. Beckett will you help us then?" Esposito asked. "Could you help us? Beck- I mean Kate had all these notes and you might be able to help us make sense of them."

"I'll help, but you have to promise me you'll find her. Please."

**I know short but nessecary. Please leave a review. I'm pretty sure that the next chapter will be following Beckett. But seriously, review. The last chapter had no reviews and my fellow writers you know how difficult that is. So help me out and leave a note. Was that a rhyme? Tehehe. **

**So since there were no reviews we're doubling up on questions: favorite Castle episode and favorite character on Castle. **

**E**


	6. Chapter 6

**This takes place after the 1st chapter. I figured we better catch up with Beckett. **

* * *

><p><strong>Down They Fall <strong>

**Chapter 6**

Beckett stepped out of her car. Her arms were shaking. Hands vibrating slightly, she gripped her glock.

Beckett crept behind a stack of boxes and watched the guard lean against the rail. She watched as he pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. He turned his back to her slightly and Beckett slipped out.

A well placed hit to the neck and he dropped to the ground silently.

Beckett walked over to the door and found it surprisingly unlocked. She moved quietly into the shadowy warehouse.

It was relatively empty. Beckett slipped from shadow to shadow.

Then she found a big, lit office. A quick glance told her that there was one man in there. The Dragon.

She lifted her gun and opened the door.

Beckett cocked her gun and aimed it at the man in the chair. But there was the distinct sound of another gun cocking behind her.

"I wondered when you would come, Detective Beckett." The Dragon said coolly.

**Reveiws would be lovely. There are so many alerts and favorites. So if you're going to do either of those it would be nice if you left a note even if it's just a smiley face or frowny face. **

**The question for this chapter is: favorite Beckett line. **

**E**


	7. Chapter 7

**It seems that you guys want longer chapters. I promise that I'm working on it, but right now we're just in build up. And I'm writing this on an iPhone, so yeah, it's an interesting challenge. Thank you all for you're wonderful reviews. **

**Proceed...**

* * *

><p><strong>Down They Fall<strong>

**Chapter 7**

"Dmitry, please restrain Ms. Beckett." The Dragon said.

"It's Detective Beckett." She hissed as the large man grabbed her wrists.

The Dragon chuckled. "Of course, Detective." She could hear the sneer in his voice.

Dmitry had forgotten to take away her gun and Beckett's mind was whirring. Dmitry was leaning over to grab rope when Beckett twisted away and fired a shot at the Dragon. Then she turned and ran back down the hall.

Beckett was suddenly glad of the fact that she had worn tennis shoes not her usual heels.

She was sprinting for the door she had come out of. Voices rang down the hall in what she thought was Russian.

A man was larger than Dmitry and hot on her heels. He swung an arm out at her. Beckett swiveled on her heel to face him.

His arm came close to her face but Beckett lifted an arm to block it. She kicked her foot out at his side. It made satisfying contact. The man grunted and leaned over clutching at his side.

Beckett started running, but the man reached out and grabbed her arm. Her shoulder jerked uncomfortably back.

"Nat." The man yelled as he held her arm fast.

Beckett struggled a bit longer until she felt a needle hit her neck and all was black.

::::::::

Beckett woke up stiffly. Her arms were tied tightly behind her and her shoulder ached.

After moving it slightly she had determined that it was dislocated. She moaned as she moved her feet, which were tied to the chair.

"Ow." Beckett groaned.

The door opened and two men walked in.

"Ah, you're awake. Good." The leaner man smiled. She recognized the other man as the one who she had been fighting with before she blacked out. "Igor. Her file please." Igor handed the man a file with her picture on the front.

He grabbed a chair that was sitting in a corner and pulled it up across from Beckett.

"So Katherine Beckett... what do you go by? Kathy? Kit? Kitty?" His grin widened. "Kate? Katie?" He watched Beckett visibly stiffen at the last. "Ah. That one struck a nerve." He grinned. "And why's that?"

Beckett stayed tight lipped.

"Igor." Igor stepped forward and punched her in the ribs. "So, now Det-ect-ive, why does that name bug you?" He drew her title mockingly.

"Only my parents call me that." Beckett hissed.

"You mean your parent." He smirked. Beckett glared at him pointedly.

Beckett said nothing, just glared at the man in front of her.

"Well, since you're being uncooperative, I think we'll just let you sit here and think." The guy sneered again before leaving. Igor stayed back for a brief moment, a moment to slap her across the face.

Beckett stared around the room. It was plain, empty except for the two chairs and her. There was a small window. She could see the sun beginning to light the earth.

Her thoughts strayed to what she might've been doing if she hadn't screwed up so royally. Going to a crime scene, joking around with Castle and the guys, her normal day.

But no, she had screwed up and now she was all but dead.

**Just to clear up all confusion, Beckett is now in the same day as the guys. Now it will switch back and forth between them more regularly. Hopefully this one is a better length. I'm trying and soon I'll be back on a real computer. **

**So here are my answers to the previous questions: My favorite episode- Last Call, Punked, Vampire Weekend and Poof! You're dead. My favorite character is- Beckett. My favorite Beckett line is 'Alakazam Jackass'. **

**Now the question is: favorite Castle line.**

**E**


	8. Chapter 8

**Down They Fall**

**Chapter 8**

"Mr. Castle! Detectives! Mr. Beckett!" Gates yelled as she walked towards them. "What do you have so far?"

"We checked her phone records and the last call she made was to Castle on Monday." Esposito said. Then he lowered his voice, "It wasn't answered."

"We know that she was in the records room from 9:15 to 10:20. But other then that we don't know. Because you gave us the day off, we don't really know where she was." Ryan said.

"So when do we think she went to go find this 'Dragon' person?" Gates asked.

"Sometime Tuesday." Ryan shrugged.

Esposito's brow furrowed. "Can you get me the board?" He asked. Ryan nodded and ran out. He returned moments later with the white board. Esposito grabbed a marker. "Okay so we know Beckett was at the station at this time. Then we don't know where she was Tuesday. But at sometime she went after the Dragon." Esposito wrote out their info on a timeline.

"So we need ti figure out where she was on Tuesday and when she left." Ryan stepped up and grabbed another marker and circled Tuesday on the timeline.

"I'd bet that Beckett went during the night and it's the spring. So when does the sun go down?"

Castle pulled out his smart phone and began tapping at it. "Sundown is between 7 and 7:20."

"Okay so from this point on is most likely when she made her move." Esposito wiped away Ryan's circle and drew his own in the appropriate time period.

"Excellent work you two. Now I want you two to figure out where Detective Beckett was all of Tuesday. That might help us." Her focus shifted to Castle and Jim. "Any luck with her notes?"

"Somewhat." Castle said meekly.

"Her handwriting is hard to read as it is, but this is also in some sort of short hand. We haven't been able to figure most of it." He sighed heavily.

"We've been able to make out a few names, but that's about it." Castle pointed out the names of the victims. "Wait, you guys grabbed her murder board, right?" The guys nodded. "Well, we can assume that she was copying off of this. Just putting it in a different order." Castle's mouth twitched in a mild smile, not fully, but the ghost of one.

"Excellent work, Mr. Castle. If you two could continue figuring out Detective Beckett's work..."

Both men nodded.

"I need to talk to the mayor now. And our public relations team. We can't have it all over the city that our best detective has been kidnapped. Now can we?" The question lingered in the air as Gates turned and left.

All four men turned back to their work as soon as her back was turned.

"Is it true that Katie's the best in the city?" Jim asked his voice wavering.

"Yeah. It is." Esposito said with a friendly smile.

"Montgomery said she was the best he ever trained." Ryan said, not looking up from the computer he was typing at.

Esposito and Castle glanced at him momentarily for the mention of the traitorous captain.

There was silence for a while. That is until, Ryan suddenly spoke, "Mr. Beckett, what was your wife's maidan name?"

"What? Why?" Jim asked, shocked slightly by the question.

"I need access to her bank accounts."

"Okay. It was Hartmann."

Ryan entered the name into the computer. Esposito leaned over his shoulder. "Okay. We're gonna go track this stuff down. You guys keep working on that."

Esposito and Ryan were out in a flash, grabbing their guns and badges before disappearing into the elevator.

"It's weird, you know. Hearing all of you referring to her as Beckett and Detective. She'll always be Katie to me, with pigtails and scraped knees. You have a daughter right, Rick?"

"Yeah."

Jim cleared his throat before he continued in a subdued tone, "I hope you never have to go through something like this." Castle looked up from his work to look at the older man. "There are days where I wished she'd never joined. But I was in no state to tell her what to do at the time. And it kills me every day. Don't make the same mistakes I did."

::::::::::

"Bro, where we headed?" Esposito asked.

Ryan shuffled through Beckett's credit card statements from the past 2 days. "Um, the Starbucks by her apartment."

Esposito nodded.

"Do you think we'll find her yaknow?" Ryan asked a tremor escaping into his tone.

"Yes. We're gonna find her and bring her back." Esposito said in a no nonsense tone. "Alive."

The car stopped in front of the half empty cafe.

The two detectives walked in. A middle aged woman was standing lazily at the counter. "How can I help you?" She asked, her voice filled with false perkiness.

"NYPD. Do you know this woman?" Ryan held up his phone with a picture of Beckett. "Melissa." He added as he read her name tag.

"Oh, yeah. The lady detective. Grande skim latte, two pumps sugar free vanilla. She normally comes in on the weekends and some random days."

"Was she here yesterday morning?" Esposito pressed.

"I don't know. Frank was working the counter yesterday morning. Frank! Come over here."

A balding man walked over as he dried his hands with a wash cloth. "Yes?"

"These two detectives are asking about her." Melissa brandished a hand at Ryan's phone.

"Oh, yeah. She was here yesterday. She seemed really out of it. It looked like she had been crying recently. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. We just needed to check up on some leads. Thanks." Esposito said curtly.

"Can we get you guys anything?" Melissa asked.

Ryan opened his mouth but Esposito grabbed his elbow and pulled him away.

"Thanks, but we have places to be." Esposito said as he dragged Ryan out.

"Dude!" Ryan yelled as Esposito slammed his fist on to the top of the car. "Calm down."

Esposito breathed in and out slowly before looking up at Ryan. "Sorry bro." He muttered.

"Okay, next is Xin Fan. Isn't that her favorite Chinese place?"

"Yeah. It's a couple blocks from here. Come on. We'll walk."

They made the short walk to Xin Fan. Esposito pushed open the door.

"Hello, how may I help you?" A man asked in a heavily accented voice.

"NYPD. Did you deliver an order of MuShu pork and rice to Kate Beckett yesterday?" Esposito asked, glancing down at his phone and we credit card records.

"Oh yes. Ms. Beckett is a very good customer. I delivered it to her around 1 yesterday. She seemed very sad. Is Ms. Beckett okay?"

"Yes. Just checking up. Thank you for your time." Ryan smiled to the man and scooped up two fortune cookies.

"This is a waste of time." Esposito said as he caught one of he fortune cookies. He cracked opened quickly and pulled out the slip of paper. "Your everlasting patience will be rewarded sooner or later. Ha. Hopefully sooner."

"Mines: A conclusion is simply the place where you got tired of thinking. What?"

"No idea, bro." Esposito mumbled through his cookie.

::::::::

Castle and Jim had been working furiously while the other two were gallivanting around. The murder board was almost complete. But they were still trying to completely decipher Beckett's notes.

Castle stated at the murder board in frustration. "What did you see that we don't?" He mused quietly. Jim had gone to get coffees for them.

"You know there were things about this case that Katie kept in her head. You can't be expected to know those things. Hell, even I didn't know." Jim handed him a coffee.

"Still. We're missing something. I just-" Castle was cut off by a soft beep.

"What's that?" Jim asked.

"Beck- Kate's phone's back on." Castle rushed over to the computer. He clicked hurriedly. "We have a location."

"A location for what?" Esposito asked as he walked in.

"Beckett's phone's back on. We got a GPS location."

"Yes!" Ryan and Esposito fist bumped each other.

"What are you guys standing around for?" Jim asked. "Go get her."

* * *

><p><strong>It has been brought to my attention that people were concerned on how quickly Beckett figured out who the Dragon was. My thought process was that you know how when you look at something for long enough it just clicks? Yeah not sure if that makes any sense. But ah well. Hopefully I can keep this updating pattern up. I'm back to school tomorrow. Yuck! Okay. I'll shut up now and get over it. <strong>

**E**


	9. Chapter 9

**Down They Fall**

**Chapter 9**

"Sir! Beckett's phone's back on. We've got a location." Esposito said hurriedly. He shoved the paper with her GPS location at his Captain.

"Fantastic. I'll call the SWAT team to meet you there." Gates was already dialing the number.

Esposito nodded. "Come on." Ryan and Castle caught up quickly. "SWAT's on their way."

They piled into the elevator.

"So what's the plan, Espo?" Ryan asked nervously.

"We go in. We get Beckett. We get out." He said straightly. Castle stared blankly ahead.

Ryan opened his mouth to say something. But Esposito slugged him in the arm and mouthed no with a shake of his head.

:::::::

Esposito leaned against his car as he watched the black van pull up. A large man climbed out and made a beeline for him. "You Detective Esposito?"

"Yeah."

"Captain Riley. You and your guys ready?" Esposito gave a curt nod. "We'll meet up in 5." He stalked away his black boots thudding on the asphalt.

Esposito turned to his trunk and pulled out his trusty rifle. Castle and Ryan were pulling on vest.

"You okay, man?" Ryan asked, glancing up from his vest.

"Yeah." Esposito's hands tightened around the large weapon.

Castle was gazing dazedly at the warehouse where Beckett was held. His reverie was broken by Esposito's voice.

"Bro." Castle turned to look at him. "Take this." He extended his hand with his service weapon.

"What?" Castle stuttered, but still reached out for the gun.

"Bro, you're gonna come in. You're part of this team. Beckett's your partner. You need to be there." Esposito said firmly.

"Yeah, man. You gotta do this. And you're gonna need some sort of protection." Ryan added.

"Okay." Castle managed.

"For a man who makes a living off words, you seem to be struggling." Ryan said in a joking tone.

"Excuse me, Detective. My team is ready." Riley was back.

"Okay, let's do this."

The SWAT team lined up outside the door behind Esposito, Ryan and Castle. Esposito held up a hand, 1, 2, 3. The door was broken down and the premises were stormed immediately.

Different teams of black clothed men spread out through out the warehouse.

The two detectives and the mystery writer trailed after them. Their target was a door at the end of the hallway. Esposito kicked in the door and raised his automatic weapon. Two people sat lazily in the room. The look on their faces when the door burst open was one of boredom and contempt.

"Oh, hello." The man said in a heavy Russian accent.

"Are you looking for that idiot detective?" The woman sitting next to him asked. "She's in the room through that door." She jerked her finger towards a door.

"SWAT, arrest them." Ryan ordered. Two SWAT guys moved forward to cuff the two Russians.

"Castle, bro? Let's get her."

:::::::::

Beckett let out a yelp as her shoulder was jostled. Her body bounced in the air wildly. She blinked her eyes open as she was flung to another side. The floor was shaking.

After a particularly rough move, her right side crashed into a hard side. "Shit." It was only a hiss.

"Language, Ms. Beckett." The man from before was in here with her. She leaned against the side as the rocking slowed. Beckett glared at the man as best she could. "That look perfected by years in the interrogation room?"

"No."

"Then what?" His voice, cold, yet curious, rang through the room.

"Where are we?"

"Ah, ah, ah. Please answer my question."

"I will when you do." Was her snippy response.

"Hmmm, fine then. We're currently driving to… a place that is of no real importance to you. So what about that look?" He asked smoothly.

"No, it is as you say of no real importance." Beckett replied shortly.

"Oh, a little bit of a smart mouth." The man drew a knife out of his jacket. He fiddled with it casually. As the truck bounced a bit the knife came dangerously close to Beckett's arm. "Careful, I hear this things are sharp."

Beckett remained tight lipped and glared straight at him.

"So why does a nice girl like you become a cop?"

"It was my calling, I guess."

"Don't lie to me, Detective."

"I wasn't."

"Hmmm, well there are consequences for lying." His knife slipped forward and barely nicked her. Beckett winched slightly, but said nothing.

"Why do you care about any of this?"

"My, uh, employer is of interest."

"The Dragon?" She tried to raise her eyebrow, but there was a shooting pain in her head.

"Yes, that is one of his names. And just because I am a kind person, I'm going to tell you this. You need to work on your aim." His grin sent chills down her spine.

:::::::::

Esposito pounded the door open and it swung open. Esposito charged in first. Castle and Ryan followed guns raised.

"Nothing." Esposito growled. He kicked the chair that was in the middle of the room. A small object flew off it.

Esposito and Ryan instinctively raised their guns. Castle walked forward, bent down and picked it up. "It's Beckett's phone."

"Is anything on it?" Ryan asked as he lowered his hands.

"No… wait… yeah." Castle handed the phone over to the guys.

"Oh crap." Ryan muttered.

A picture of Beckett, knocked out and tied up, was on the screen.

"I guess your guy was right." Esposito looked up at Castle, who had a disheartened, defeated look about him.

:::::::::

**Please pretty please review. And my favorite Castle lines are: **

**You got to watch those silhouettes they can be shifty little bastards. **

**Dr. Parish: Looks like a patient lost his patience.  
>Castle: Also his command of grammar. You're should be you-'-re as in you are, that's not even a tough one not like when to use who or whom.<br>Beckett: Do you really think that's the take away here Castle?  
>Castle: I'm just saying whoever killed her also murdered the English language. <strong> 

**Beckett: Either you are being a good cop or you just wanna go to the museum?  
>Castle: They have dinosaurs there.<strong>

**So the question for this chapter is: least favorite character?**

**E  
><strong>


End file.
